Washing my countertops

[KelleyJoL1804]

My college aged daughter has been recently diagnosed with celiac's.  We are relieved to have an answer after so much suffering. And we love it when she comes home. So, please don't misunderstand. Trying to keep half my kitchen gluten free is driving me nuts! We are a larger family with 3 kids in college. We can't afford to go completely gluten free. And she is home only for 3 months of summer and Christmas break. I feel guilty for complaining, but it's a lot of work. I know bleach does nothing to de-nature the protein, but can I wash stuff with hydrochloric acid between uses? That should break down and at least partially digest the gluten? Then I wouldn't have to do so many repeated washings of the same surface? Any thoughts?

[pschwab]

When my son was diagnosed we decided to make our house completely gluten free because of his age (2) and the age of his siblings (4,6). That meant cleaning our whole kitchen inside and out, top to bottom. I was baffled and overwhelmed. I was desperately searching the Internet for help when I ran across an article about cleaning peanut proteins off surfaces. I figured gluten proteins would be similar to peanut proteins. That article said soap and water killed/removed all the proteins as well as Clorox/Lysol wipes. Even just plain water killed the majority of the proteins. Alcohol based cleaners (like hand sanitizers) did nothing. We used Clorox wipes followed by soap and hot water and felt confident our house was deglutened. Now we don’t have a mixed household like I said above, but I would have to assume you washing her safe surfaces well with a cleaner or soap and hot water would be enough to kill the gluten proteins. When we travel to my mom’s I also make sure to wash down the handles of the fridge and microwave to make myself feel a bit more safe while preparing his food. I’m not sure how helpful this is, but hopefully it can help some.

[kareng]

  On 8/5/2018 at 12:47 AM, KelleyJoL1804 said:

My college aged daughter has been recently diagnosed with celiac's.  We are relieved to have an answer after so much suffering. And we love it when she comes home. So, please don't misunderstand. Trying to keep half my kitchen gluten free is driving me nuts! We are a larger family with 3 kids in college. We can't afford to go completely gluten free. And she is home only for 3 months of summer and Christmas break. I feel guilty for complaining, but it's a lot of work. I know bleach does nothing to de-nature the protein, but can I wash stuff with hydrochloric acid between uses? That should break down and at least partially digest the gluten? Then I wouldn't have to do so many repeated washings of the same surface? Any thoughts?

Expand Quote  

Wait! What?  Your kid has a serious disease and you are annoyed  by washing?  You don’t have to keep part of your kitchen gluten-free, but you and every other person over 15 who fixes food or snacks, must be careful.

Another thing to think of is which of you have Celiac ,also?  

There are lots of foods that are naturally or easily made gluten-free.  Please don’t make her one of the ones we see on here complaining that her parents make her sick and won’t help her!  Are you helping her be gluten-free at her college apartment?  Or just telling her to do it herself?  If so, I would tell her not to eat at your house.... and all that that means.  I have kids in this age.  

[kareng]

Another thought - what if it were cancer or diabetes? Would you not want to help with that?  Really this is soooo much easier to deal with.

 

think about out how it is for her to deal with the world now. Shouldn’t you , her family , be her safe place ?

 

sorry if this seems harsh but I have seen too many teens and college kids who can’t live safely with parents.  And I don’t think you want to be one of those families.

Edited August 5, 2018 by kareng

[apprehensiveengineer]

I am a young adult who no longer lives at home, but who visits over Christmas/other holidays for short periods. I was not gluten-free until university, and so my case is perhaps a bit similar to your daughter's.

It is much less stressful to make the entire home gluten-free(ish) when I am home. My parents care, but it is hard for them to completely recalibrate their behaviour in their own home - despite their best intentions, stuff happens. If you really don't want to convert your whole home temporarily, having a specific procedure (eg. designate a "gluten counter space," wipe down surfaces/handles with paper towel before gluten-free meal prep, separate dishes, NO FLOUR) really helps a lot. Although this sounds very extra, it's actually easier to have separate prep areas/dishes - less need to rewash or clean stuff that way, which is less work.

That said, gluten-free need not be expensive if you keep the focus away from replacement/convenience products - I am a grad student (income well below the poverty line) and I manage to spend very little on food. Potatoes, rice, beans, corn are very cheap. My parents will also eat/buy foods that are nominally free of gluten ingredients, but not strictly safe for me to eat (eg. bulk nuts, some candies, some chocolate), so their diet is still much less restricted than mine.   

 

[Ennis-TX]

Well bleach will help loosen the proteins to clean up ....it does not destroy them. Think of gluten proteins like blood proteins not germs (gluten is smaller). You have to clean it so the CSI tech can not swab it and find DNA.....Bonus 500F+ destroys gluten so the oven self clean cycle can be used to decon silverware, and some pans.

When cooking or eating somewhere else I use butcher paper/Freezer Paper. I lay it out on the surface for a clean safe work are, bonus that I can clean up easy by just tossing it when down.

You might look into getting here a fold out table in another room, with a new microwave, toaster oven, disposable plates and utensils, a rubbermaid tub to wash dishes in and some Nordicware microwave cookware. A mini fridge to store her own stuff in, she will have to avoid your glutened condiment jars, glutened cookware, etc. OH and DO not cook with flour when she is home, the stuff stays air borne for hours (that puff of dust you see when you open that bag) it settles everywhere and sometime we can inhale it, get it stuck in our nose where it runs down our throat and into our stomach, and yes that tiny amount can trigger some of us.

Do read the newbie 101 thread.

[notme]

  On 8/5/2018 at 9:21 AM, Ennis_TX said:

Well bleach will help loosen the proteins to clean up ....it does not destroy them. Think of gluten proteins like blood proteins not germs (gluten is smaller). You have to clean it so the CSI tech can not swab it and find DNA.....Bonus 500F+ destroys gluten so the oven self clean cycle can be used to decon silverware, and some pans.

i believe the magic number is 655 f

When cooking or eating somewhere else I use butcher paper/Freezer Paper. I lay it out on the surface for a clean safe work are, bonus that I can clean up easy by just tossing it when down.

i bring either freezer paper or parchment, just to lay down when i'm, say, fixing myself a sammich or whatever.  i visit gluten-laden homes of family and friends with my trusty ziplok collection, tinfoil, my own gluten-free cutting board, a small pot and a small frying pan.  also, i may or may not bring a strainer, a wooden spoon, or a baster brush, depending on what i'm planning to fix.  i used to bring the whole dang kitchen, but as long as i have access to an oven and tinfoil, i can fake the rest.  paper plates double as cutting boards sometimes, and i can poke holes in a ziplok freezer bag and fake a colandar lolz.  if it's a short visit, i plan alllll my meals and snacks. 

Expand Quote  

you could keep a small area for your child that is off limits to gluten eaters if you are worried about sterilizing your kitchen.  i make visitors (my grandkids) wash their little handzies after gluten snacks bc i while my kitchen is MOSTLY gluten free, i still keep gluten snacks for the little heathens!

while i agree with karen and your child deserves and needs your support, if they are adult age, they need to manage their disease.  after all, what do they do while they are away?  i tell mine:  you're not getting any younger.  learn.  (i had my son dx'd as type 1 diabetic while he was away at school 950 miles away from mommy.  yeah, i freaked out.  yeah, i worried my face off....)  they're more resilient than you think and the whole trip is a learning curve.  if you want to stock some cookware/dishes/utensils, etc for your kid that is off limits to the rest of y'all, that would probably be helpful.  but this is their disease and they will have to deal with it for ever.  it helps to be good at it    good luck!